Pottery, Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum

WHAT IS GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING

(AND HOW DO WE KNOW IT WHEN WE SEE IT)?

CURRICULUM

• Expect the expected, hope for the unexpected, expect the unexpected (Curtis and Rachel, 1994)

• A subject or topic, knowledge about something. Being told what I need to know and learn to pass a test (Eleanor, 2014).

CURRICULUM• Evolving knowledge through thinking and sharing these thoughts.

• Being able to confidently challenge viewpoints and perceptions.

• Learning something new.

• Learning from each other.

• Actively participating in the development of ideas, thinking and knowledge .

• Taking risks with ideas.

• Learning with the tutor’s guidance.

• Researching and questioning.

• Passing the essay

• Lifelong learning

• Making a contribution to the curriculum.

(Medway BA (HONS) EYL students, 2014)

CURRICULUM AS POWER• Societal power

• Governmental power

• Marketplace power

• University power

• Programme power

• Tutor power

• Student power

• Power of relationships and partnerships?

The Craft of Pottery as a Metaphor

by

Tony Ross-Gower

ORGANIC CURRICULUM

GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING REQUIRES EXPERT KNOWLEDGE

The ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘where’: facts; history; equipment; specialist vocabulary; firing temperatures; ingredients; etc.

GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING REQUIRES SPECIAL SKILLS

The ‘how’: wedging; throwing; turning; glazing; firing; cooling; shaping; etc.

GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING AND APPLICATION

The ‘why’: reasons for studying the discipline; different vessel shapes – dependent on context/need; use of different clays; firing processes; etc.

GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING:WHAT ELSE?

• Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK: Schulman, 1992)?

• Performing skills (DfE, 2011; www.cirquedusoleil.com)?

• Inclusive and egalitarian teacher/learner relationships (Dewey, 1903; Freire, 1996, Booth and Ainscow, 2011)?

• Emotional engagement with the curriculum – whether philosophy or pottery (Easton, 2009; Krathwohl, Bloom and Masia, 1973)?

• Empathy, trust, respect, humour, love (Bowlby and Ainsworth in Bretherton, 1992; Campbell, 1984 – moderated love; hooks, 1999 – professional love)?

• All that other stuff…

GOOD TEACHING AND LEARNING: THE UNEXPECTED AND/OR THE UNKNOWN?

curriculum

skills

knowledge

understanding

REFERENCES

Dahl, R. (1986) Four Tales of the Unexpected. London: Heinemann/Octopus.

Dewey, J. (2012) Democracy and Education. Hollywood: Simon and Brown.

Easton, F. (2009) ‘Educating the whole child, ‘head, heart and hands’: learning from the Waldorf experience’, Theory into Practice, Volume 36 (2), pp. 87-94.

Freire, P. (1970, reprinted 1996) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin.

Great Britain, Department for Education (2013) Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. Nottingham: DfE.

hooks, b. (1999) All about love: new visions. New York: HarperCollins.

Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S. and Masia, B. B. (1973) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: the Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook II: Affective Domain . New York: David McKay Co.

Shulman, L. (1992) ‘Ways of seeing, ways of knowing, ways of teaching, ways of learning about teaching’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Volume 28, pp. 393-396.